The transfer rumor mill has been swirling following Barcelona's embarrassing defeat to Bayern Munich on Friday, as many of the club's top players have been linked with moves away from the Catalan club.
This year, the transfer market promises to look very different as clubs look to conserve money during a difficult financial time. While COVID-19 might put a damper on expensive transfers, there is still plenty of good value in the market.
Many of the best players in today's game have been purchased for just a fraction of the enormous transfer fees paid for superstars like Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
Back in the days of FIFA Street, you used to have to string together tricks and skills to fill a combo bar which unleashed the GameBreaker — an action that would allow you to score from essentially anywhere, usually by way of scissor kick.
If this feature were somehow ported into real life, performing the seal dribble would instantly charge that GameBreaker to max capacity. Across the spectrum of sport, I know of no form of self-expression that’s as needless, as brazen and as semiaquatic marine mammal-inspired as the seal dribble.
Longtime U.S. men's national team member Fabian Johnson is seeking a move to MLS, according to a report.
Kristian Dyer of Sports Illustrated tweeted that Johnson, who plays for Borussia Monchengladbach of the Bundesliga, has been in contact with "multiple" MLS teams through his agent.
Pellegrino Matarazzo, a native of New Jersey, was introduced as the new head coach of VFB Stuttgart on Monday, signing a contract that runs until June 2021. Matarazzo takes over from Tim Walter, who was sacked after the first half of the campaign following a run of inconsistent results and performances.
As an American, it’s only natural that you’ll go through life encountering people that aren’t soccer fans. I’ve found — time after time — that the greatest bridge over that divide is Zlatan Ibrahimović. Introducing the big Swede’s personality to the uninitiated turns ambivalence into interest, and showing the Galaxy striker’s most famous goals turns interest into “holy shit, that’s incredible!”
LAFC moved one step closer to securing the top seed in the Western Conference — and the MLS Supporters’ Shield — following a 4-0 beatdown of rivals San Jose on Wednesday night at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. Diego Rossi opened the scoring in the sixth minute, Carlos Vela registered a brace by the 41st and Joshua Pérez put the finishing touches on an emphatic victory.
Vela’s first arrived from the penalty spot in the 17th, but it’s his outrageous solo goal in the 41st-minute that could have a shout at the MLS Goal of the Year Award.
Money is becoming increasingly inflated in soccer over the last five years. It seems like each year a new record transfer fee is set both at a club level and international level. This has been possible thanks to incredible broadcast rights fees in other countries that then trickle down to teams in each league. Teams then have more money to spend on players and clubs take advantage of that, setting ridiculous asking prices for their players as the sponsorship money just rolls in alongside the lucrative TV deals and funding from club owners.
Major League Soccer has seen its expansion teams work out very well in recent years, especially with clubs like LAFC and Atlanta United coming to the forefront of American soccer. With one eye on the future, the next big exciting team in MLS looks to be Inter Miami, owned by soccer legend David Beckham.
The transfer window looms for the Premier League clubs, and time is ticking for some huge deals that are still on the table. While sales can still happen until late August, all Premier League acquisitions must be finalized by Aug. 8 by 5 p.m. Here are some of the Premier League transfer rumors still on the table as the end of the window nears.
Kieran Tierney — Arsenal